{vintage} ✿ Brooch Bridal Bouquet

One of the latest vintage inspired wedding trends happens to be a favorite of MINE...Vintage Brooch Bridal Bouquets. What an awesome alternative to the traditional bouquet, right? Especially if you are lucky enough to have wonderful vintage jewel and gem heirlooms that you can incorporate into your bouquet.

Heirloom Brooch Bouquet by Noaki Jewelry

These beauties are a bit time-consuming though and you need to keep that in mind when deciding between a DIY Project or asking a professional to create your bouquet. Etsy has many talented artisans that can handle your order, keep in mind that you are looking at approximately 8 weeks time and approximately $400.00 to $800.00 in cost. I have found one artist that really caught my attention, Noaki Jewelry out of Los Angeles, California. Her execution of this heirloom bouquet is PERFECT, elegant, and inspiring. Another fabulous aspect of Noaki's shop is that she offers to turn your precious pieces of jewelry into an heirloom brooch bouquet. The cost is $300.00, which after completing my research for this post, is just an amazing price especially for such fabulous work. Please be sure to take a few minutes and look around her Etsy Shop.

However, if you are feeling adventurous and are a total DIY kinda person then this just might be the project for you.

There are several ways that you can acquire the brooches, my personal fave is one that I read where the mother of the bride wrote a short note to family and friends explaining her daughter's plan to make a vintage brooch bridal bouquet for her wedding and her wish to include her family and friends in the process, making the bouquet much more special {something borrowed per se}. The mother also included a photo of the inspiration for the bouquet so that everyone could see what kind of jewelry would work best. She received over 30 donations, at the time of her posting and everyone was thrilled to be asked to be a part of the bouquet. 

Her total investment in the bouquet included the following: postage, cards, padded envelopes and reprints - which she did at Walgreen's for 10 cents each.  She put a $.61 cent stamp on the padded envelope in case the piece they were sending would be heavy - but the whole packet that she mailed took just a $.44 cent stamp on it.

However most of the bouquets that I have fallen in love with have taken approximately 50 to 75 brooches to complete. So you can shop Etsy, eBay, flea markets, thrift stores, or even Dollar Stores for that new-old look. You really don't have to spend a fortune to find these pieces. Many sellers will offer brooches in lots and you can use vintage hat pins, earrings, miscellaneous gems to fill in.

{fabulous sunday} Long Beach Antique Market

So we did it!!! We sold at our first big antique market in Southern California and it was FABULOUS! The Long Beach Antique Market has it all...so many vendors, so many niches, and so many fabulous finds. Took a couple of quick strolls around to see what else was out there, beyond my line of vision, and I ended up wanting half of what I saw. All I could think was 'WOW, I could do {such and such} that THAT!' But I was an extremely good girl and didn't spend a dime on anything. :)

We had some absolutely fantastic customers and potential customers come by our spot. Many of them I passed along my information to so that they can place custom orders for the October 30th event {dang I LOVE custom orders | they are so much fun}. So here's a big YIPPEE to all of you wonderful people that are going to be popping by after stopping by. Be sure to check back later because I will be posting more information in regards to the custom order designs that I have available.

In the meantime please be sure to click on my Pinterest link for many ideas and options for the windows | doors | and shutters that I sell or click here to connect directly to my Vintage Inspired DIY Wedding board, also on Pinterest. Also be sure to let me know if you have any questions. You can email me at quirksbyannie@gmail.com | visit my Etsy Shop at www.etsy.com/shop/QuirksByAnnie | or visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fabquirksbyannie. Thanks again and I so look forward to talking to you all again and seeing you on the 30th. ♥

when one {door} closes...

While living in North Carolina we collected a few antique and vintage doors. Since moving back to California my husband has transformed two of them into fabulous folding tables that we are now using to display our depression glass and other small collectibles at the antique markets. Another door is going to my sister-in-law who is using it to recreate a door she had in a home that she recently sold. She had been using it as a growing chart, measuring me, my nieces, nephew, my kids, etc. for tons of years.

So today I started browsing around to build on some existing vintage inspired ideas for the remaining doors...and I FOUND TONS OF IDEAS!!! A door alone has such great symbolic meaning | couple that with simply perfect vintage and you have a fabulous backdrop for your wedding ceremony and/or reception.

So here are a few pictures illustrating some DIY ideas...

{altar backdrops}

♥

{rustic screen door entrance}

 {autumn inspired arbor}

 {menu}

{seating chart & vintage keys}

{seating arrangements | tags strung up w/ twine & mini clothes pins}

{serving table}

{table}

There are many different places where you can find vintage door these days, even if you don't live in rural North Carolina. Many areas now have architectural salvage yards, you can also shop flea markets, and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in your area. Once again with vintage pieces the options are near endless and I just love that these are pieces that you can incorporate into your home's decor after your wedding day...{simply perfect}. ♥

{photo credits} Photo One: stylemepretty.com | Photo Two: weddingchicks.com | Photo Three: greenweddingshoe.com | Photo Four: 100layer.com | Photo Five: http://tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com | Photo Six: http://wedding-cheesecake.com | Photo Seven: http://julieharmsenphotography.com | Photo Eight: http://www.oncewed.com | Photo Nine: http://www.100layercake.com | Photo Ten: http://dwellingsanddecor.tumblr.com

Let's Talk About Mason Jars...

In the vintage wedding scene there really isn't anything more versatile than the simple yet perfect MASON canning jar!!! I have seen them used often and each time I see them featured as part of a wedding I just think "FABULOUS"! The use of mason jars is a wonderful idea for so many reasons. One of the reasons is that they tend to be very inexpensive. You can find vintage canning jars on such sites as Etsy and eBay and often times they are sold in lots. Of course you can find them while treasure hunting through yard sales and flea markets.


Some simply perfect ideas include using the jars as centerpieces; hanging vases; chandeliers; fill them with lemonade | sherbets | votive candles | water and floating flowers | photos | and literary I could go on and on but I will spare you. But in the event that you want to KNOW more...just ask...I have a million of 'em. xoxo